Iowa House passes bipartisan bill to curb eminent domain abuse by proposed CO2 pipelines, bill now heads to Senate

[Des Moines] – Today, the Iowa House of Representatives moved forward House File 565 on a vote of 73-20. 52 Republicans and 21 Democrats voted in favor of the measure, which now heads to the Senate for consideration in committee.

“This only happened because of a groundswell of opposition to CO2 pipelines and potential abuse of eminent domain by thousands of Iowans of all political stripes and ideologies,” said Devyn Hall, Farm and Environment Organizer with Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement. “Lawmakers would not have confronted Big Ag and the ethanol industry and their lobbying machine if they hadn’t heard widespread opposition since the day these pipelines were proposed.”

House File 565 requires the CO2 pipeline companies to obtain 90% of the parcels for their routes to be obtained voluntarily before requesting the use of eminent domain from the Iowa Utilities Board. Provisions to require the issuance of federal guidelines and adherence to county ordinances were stripped of the bill by their Republican sponsors during the amendment process.

“Should this bill have been stronger? Yes, it most certainly should have been,” Hall continued. “But given the amount of time spent by pipeline lobbyists, and millions they spent badgering landowners and funding their own self-fulfilling studies based on propaganda, this is a win for everyday Iowans and shows that organized people can go toe-to-toe with organized money.”

House File 565 now heads to the Senate where it must be assigned to a committee and pass out of a committee by March 31 in order to stay alive under a self-imposed legislative deadline for bills not related to funding government operations. Iowa CCI is joining with other grassroots groups and Iowans calling on Senate Majority Leader Jack Whitver and Senate President Amy Sinclair to assign the bill to committee and debate it immediately.